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| Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary. |
Yeah, I watched the second Republican presidential debate Wednesday night. Seven dunces without a chance of success trying to talk over each other. Through the cacophony, certain words kept popping out, like “agenda,” “Chicago” and “elites.” Old words with new meanings. So I worked up a quick glossary to help bring us up to speed.
agenda n. 1) the program of items to be discussed at a meeting (now obscure); 2) anything you don’t want to happen. “Joe Biden’s Green New Deal agenda” — former Vice President Mike Pence; 3) efforts by a group you loathe, often the LGBTQ community, to participate in, and therefore ruin, life activities that are your exclusive domain, like marrying, raising children, or visiting a theme park. “Hold Disney accountable for abandoning its historic mission of providing wholesome entertainment to one that is dedicated to imposing the LGBT agenda on unsuspecting children.” — Brian S. Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.
Chicago n. 1) an American city at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, its organized crime a source of endless fascination and grudging national pride, when committed by white people 100 years ago (now rare); 2) a menacing mythical place ridden with random crime whose existence tacitly undermines the value of both racial minorities and Democratic leadership. “Inner cities like Chicago ... ” — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
elites pl. n. 1) rich jerks other than oneself. “Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.” — billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, presumably not speaking about himself; 2) out-of-touch bureaucrats serving in a branch of government different than one’s own. “The reason why we’re in this mess is because elites in D.C. for far too long have chosen surrender over strength.” — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
hate n. the imagined impulse leading to a dire result, particularly for former President Donald Trump. By pretending, for instance, legal prosecution is the result of malice, and not due to laws being enforced, it is possible, if not persuasive, to pretend that the just desserts of one’s misdeeds are due to a conspiracy of irrational hostility and not the neutral administration of justice. “Never before have I seen such hatred toward one person by a judge.” — Eric Trump, on the ruling that his father’s business empire is based on fraud.
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Irrevocable damage has forever changed this nation. We are more divided than ever, yet the GOP still drools over this indicted fraud. The election process is void of credibility, as is SCOTUS. I don’t see how this situation is going to change, considering the misguided millions who buy into this blitz of garbage and lies. God save America.
ReplyDeleteRight. Assuming there's a God. Which many do not.
DeleteThe only thing that can save us from ourselves is...ourselves. It isn't happening, and it won't be happening. We're toast. Burnt toast. We blew it. But what the hell...250 years is a pretty good run, as empires go. Bye-bye America, hello China.
Adolf proclaimed: "Give me five years and you will not recognize Germany again. Those five years have come and gone, along with the Plague, which changed us forever. We're all Germans now.
Study your WWII history...particularly the activities of the Resistance throughout occupied Europe, and of the partisans and guerillas everywhere. It's going to get ugly.
Newt Gingrich, pre internet, sent lexicons to GOP officials around the country, teaching them how to twist word meanings to demonize liberal opponents. He turned words from the building blocks of communication to battlefield weaponry. It was a turning point in the evolution of the GOP from a political party into a hate filled death cult. Gingrich, a family promoting, odious serial adulterer, continues to feed at the public trough and poison the body politic, disappointed that he isn't on camera at this moment, feeding his ego while he helps destroy democracy.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Newt was a turning point the way he organized the GOP to use language to attack Democrats. Newt primed the pump 20 years before Trump took full advantage of what Newt started.
DeleteArthur
I think Newt learned it from Rush Limbaugh. That's who I blame. He spent decades stirring up emotions and playing on the fears of people to convince them all their woos was from those liberals and war must be waged to take back America. He showed politicians that if you twist words around enough you can keep getting elected without any accountability to truth.
DeleteYou left out the "Biden Crime Family"! Of course they haven't committed any crimes, other than drug addicted son Hunter lying on that federal firearms application.
ReplyDeleteBut the MAGA cult falls for anything their moron of a leader says. He insists that whales are dying due to all the windmills on the Atlantic Coast, except there aren't any windmills in those areas, yet!
A judge rules he lied about the value of Merde-De-Lardo, when he said it was worth only $18 million, but that's because the cult leader himself only paid about $10 million for it & them encumbered it with so many restrictive covenants to get tax breaks for it, that makes it not worth a lot to anyone else who would buy it.
What's important are two quotes, one from Mencken on how some glorious cay this country will elect an absolute moron as president, to match the lack of intelligence of the voters & the other from Isaac Asimov that this country has always had a cult of ignorance in it!
As my buddy Kodner says, "The Stupidest have won." Goodbye, USA.
ReplyDeleteLast night, multitasking as Zoom troubleshooter, texting traffic cop for Cubs and Blackhawks fans, surfing channels for sports and political news, I caught the end of an interview. It seems a woman, who I did not recognize, was being questioned about something she wrote listing the multiple crimes of Biden. She was forced to admit a word she had left out of her report, Hunter. She claimed that space was limited and she had to omit some words, but yes , she wasn't accusing the President. Since I joined that conversation midstream, perhaps I missed something, but her demeanor told me enough.
ReplyDeleteI realize im not real smart. just a high school graduate. I wish I realized how against the right I should be. im just not afraid of them. I have family and friends that are Christy christian republicans and supported trump.
ReplyDeletesome of them have been to college and put their kids through college. many of them have served in the military. they belong to charitable organizations. they work hard.
we dont argue with or disrespect one another. we dont call each other names.
they came to my same sex marriage. these people are not criminals. they are not out to destroy America .
some of them realize they made a mistake supporting trump. they are still right wing republicans. honestly I know they love this country. they have a different vision for its future than I do . I dont really want to live somewhere where everyone thinks the same.
I do not plan to take up arms against them. I plan to vote. who ever wins puts they're hand on the til. Bidens done a fine job, but we need someone better.
who would that be? im a fan of Stacy Abrams . that should give you an idea how far left I am. any other suggestions?
I think you're being modest — you sound pretty smart to me. As for Stacy Abrams, I wish she were running. She'd shred Trump. But you have to fight with the army you got.
Delete
DeleteI appreciate your nicely expressed, heartfelt comment, 12:30 Anonymous.
You write: "these people are not criminals. they are not out to destroy America."
Yes, but... "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
I used to defend the non-Kool Aid-drinking Republicans, even after the orange criminal was elected. That was before January 6. January 6 was it for me. Even Mitch McConnell summoned a backbone for a few days after that, harshly assessing and criticizing what had gone on. I thought that finally might be the spur that "regular" Republicans could use to get off the Trump Train. Alas, for far too many, including almost every Republican in Congress, their resolve didn't last long at all. If good people are willing to look at the events of January 6 and all the other stuff that has been done by people craven enough to still support the demonstrably unfit guy with a stranglehold on their party, it doesn't matter whether they, themselves are "out to destroy America." It's essentially being done, regardless, and will get much worse if he ever gets back in office. They're aiding and abetting people who are more concerned with their own power and privilege than they are with the basic principles that were so important in making this country special.
Hundreds of people have been imprisoned for taking part in the insurrection. That's what the folks in the "Law and Order" party used to call the rule of law. Trump has said that he "most likely" would pardon "a large portion of them" if he gets the chance.
I accidently hit publish, I think.
DeleteAs I was saying, I wish MAGAts would decide on one thing. Either Biden is a blithering idiot who can't tie his shoelaces, or he's the kingpin of the notorious international Biden crime family. He can't be both.
We were talking at bridge the other night. How about Pritzker/Gretchen Witmer ticket?
Several of the most brilliant, accomplished people I know are "just" high school graduates. Wisdom has no connection to education or wealth for that matter. Pat yourself on the back for having wisdom - as well as empathy - qualities lacking in so many otherwise privileged souls.
Deleteyes jakash . thats why I will vote and volunteer to canvas and work the polls. as all good people should. voting. one of the most basic principles that make this country special. that and the judicial system that still functions effectively to ensure the rule of law is upheld. we voted him out. many of the perpetrators were punished. now we are waiting to see if the former president will have the same fate. lets be vigilant and protect our democratic principles. encourage others to vote. im not sure Sharis suggested ticket would inspire the electorate maybe Witmer/ Pritzker would be a better choice. or Biden / Abrams? something to stir the passion and bring out the vote. and find a way to take back the House. its important if a seat on the SC becomes vacant.
ReplyDeleteYou should watch tick tock some times. I believe the comedy channel has has has tic tock channel. Occasionally there are man on the street interviews with the maga types. It almost seems like a Jay Leno bit. I can't believe these people are that stupid.
ReplyDeleteThey ARE that stupid. But I think the key here is that Trump might have been the first to recognize how gosh-darn MANY stupid people there are in this country... and they can vote!
DeleteThey are not critical thinkers, they can be spectacularly uneducated and uninformed, and they are thus the perfect audience to be lied to by the first major politician who paid attention to them. They've been ignored in the past, so they will naturally gravitate to the first candidate who seems to understand their needs. Trump's limited vocabulary and tendency to talk like the drunk at the end of the bar is a perfect fit for them.
It doesn't matter that the rest of the voting population can see what a fraud he is. He can still summon up enough people to vote for him that only an organized, focused movement against him will succeed.
To my horror, I long ago realized that all of the Trump supporters are not mouth breathing morons. I know many college educated people that buy his sociopathic, racist, misogynist, democracy destroying, fascist, self serving con. It is perhaps the central mystery of my life.
DeleteI came to the same conclusion after visiting Fairfield before his inauguration, and visiting with the good people there, who voted 84 percent for Trump. It shouldn't be a mystery — remember, the central lesson of World War II is that one third of any nation will happily kill the second third while the last third watches.
DeleteOnce upon a time the majority of Americans lived in a rural environment or a small town. They read the local paper , watched the evening news and if they were lucky could tune in to a radio station like WGN.
DeleteThey talked to relatives in the city on the phone or sent a letter. this is not so long ago.
Now the ones who still do get bombarded by media of every type, though that newspaper is probably no more. Every occurrence is available for their consumption. especially the violence and mayhem. It can feel like its happening right down the street or that it will be soon. They are scared shitless. their not stupid , their frightened . Some of them live simple sheltered lives so they can't process a lot of what's coming at them. different is not comforting.
They look to someone powerful to protect them from change. they pray and acquire firearms. The former president panders to these people. He doesn't understand you must be president to ALL the people. Joe does. he's fading but he's a true American . Even if his son is a bag.
There are urban sophisticates that look to power for protection as well. concerned about their portfolio. Frightened for a different reason but afraid none the less.
I think there are four groups, the ones who will stand up to tyranny . I know which group im in. I am not afraid. I do not look to power for my protection. I support the government and look to hold them accountable for the benefit of all citizens. Even the ones I disagree with.
I am not anonymous
The pushback against the term “woke” by way of sardonically overusing it has less to do, I think, with an insensitivity toward the goals of racial justice than it does with a perception of arrogance (i.e., youngsters carrying on as if they’re the first generation to recognize the evils of racism, and the implication that anyone not perfectly in sync with their views must be asleep).
ReplyDeleteI’ve also considered the irony of attempting to project enlightenment and sophistication by using a word that demonstrates such grammatical clumsiness. “Woke” is a verb, past tense of “wake”, not an adjective. The correct tense, if trying to convey how attuned one is, should be “awake” or “awakened”.
There are, in fact, AWAKE organizations, including the local Awake Illinois, dedicated to fighting all those ‘Woke’ demons like libraries and LGBTQ+ ‘indoctrination’, pretty much anything the ‘radical left-wing socialist/communist Democrats who hate God and America’ are in favor of.
ReplyDeleteThere was also, in 1930’s Germany, an ‘Awake Germany’ movement, complete with prominent publications, proclaiming to the general public all the enemies of the fatherland, starting with, of course, the Jews, plus a long list of other undesirables who needed to be removed from the presence of Aryan society.
Awake Illinois. Awake Germany. Connect the dots?
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